Brown Creeper – Ethical Birder

5MR: The First Month

February 1, 2019February 1, 2019 by John Rakestraw, posted in birding philosophy, mammals, OR Birding Sites

For the month of January, virtually all of my birding has been conducted within my 5 Mile Radius. This included dedicated birding trips and keeping track of birds while at the dog park and on family hikes. (This Red-breasted Sapsucker was at Greenway Park.) Some birds came quite easily, like the Barred Owls that sang in my yard and at the dog park, while others were hard to find, like Rock Pigeon which I didn’t see until January 30.

The purpose of the 5 Mile Radius challenge, in addition to reducing your gas consumption, is to explore under-birded sites close to home. I visited several sites I had never birded before, and explored some familiar sites in greater detail.

The hope is that you will find previously unknown great birding spots, but this was not my experience. Of the new places I visited so far, all of which are eBird “Hotspots,” none of them are sites I am particularly motivated to visit again.

My circle has a few great birding sites that include wetlands, mixed forest, and hilltop migrant traps. If I concentrate my birding on five sites, I will have the opportunity to see the vast majority of species likely to occur within my circle. Yes, great birds can show up anywhere. If you are lucky enough to be able to go birding every day, then it makes a lot of sense to visit as many different sites as possible. But if your birding time is limited because you have a life (oops, did I say that out loud?), I think it makes more sense to spend your time in the best habitats. I also enjoy my birding more when the habitat is more pleasant. I have peeked into people’s back yards to see rare birds (Brambling, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Ovenbird, Costa’s Hummingbird), but I would much rather hike around a nice park.

Here are a few photos from the past month.

Brown Creeper, Greenway Park

Nutria at Koll Wetlands

Wilson’s Snipes at Commonwealth Lake

I dipped on the American Dipper that has been hanging out in my circle this winter, but I did see lots of dipper poop, so that should count, right?

Onward to February.

Ankeny NWR 2/23/12

February 27, 2012 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

I birded Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge in preparation for my waterfowl class. Waterfowl numbers have dropped considerably in the past week, suggesting that some birds have already started their northward migration.

Pintail Marsh

Pintail Marsh hosted this small flock of Tundra Swans and Dusky Canada Geese. Protecting winter habitat for the rare Duskies was the main reason for establishing the Willamette Valley National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

Most of the wintering geese were grazing in fields surrounding the marshes. The flock consists mostly of Taverner’s Cackling and Ridgeway’s Cackling Geese.

These very alert Northern Pintails seemed to be keeping watch over the nearby Green-winged Teals and American Wigeons.

Ankeny has two boardwalks that provide access to flooded woodland habitat. This is the Rail Trail.

This Brown Creeper was probing patches of moss on the tree trunk.

If you look closely you can see he is holding a tiny organism in his bill.

Mt. Hood National Forest, 9/17/2011

September 19, 2011 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

Nala and I walked part of the Pacific Crest Trail in Mt. Hood National Forest, starting at Little Crater Lake (Birding Oregon p. 75) and walking north for about seven miles before turning around. The edge of this old clearcut provides a view into the valley below. If it weren’t for the low cloud cover on this day, you would be able to see Mt. Hood in this photo.

As expected this time of year, the forest held very few birds. Once the nesting season ends in July, most birds on the west slope of the Cascades take off. For some reason, forests on the east slope maintain a higher species diversity. In five hours of walking, I found (in order of decreasing abundance) Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Red Crossbills, Gray Jays, American Robins, Swainson’s Thrushes, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Common Ravens, Dark-eyed Juncos, and singles of Brown Creeper (above) and Wilson’s Warbler.